For Good
by dress up romance xx
Summary: A project for Muggle Studies has the eighth year students performing Wicked at the end of term. Harry, having gotten caught up in all of the musical madness, winds up spending a lot of time with Malfoy during and after practices. What happens when
1. Long Awaited Return

_**For Good**_

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _anything_ related to Harry Potter. If I did, Harry's parents, Sirius, Dumbledore, Remus, Dobby and all the other good guys would still be alive. Oh, and Harry would have wound up with Draco, not Ginny.

**Summary: **A project in Muggle Studies has the eighth year students of Hogwarts performing _Wicked_ as an end of term celebration. Harry, having gotten caught up in all the musical madness, finds himself spending an awful lot of time with Malfoy during _and_ after practices. But what would his friends think if he wound up actually _liking_ Malfoy? What will happen when they both realize they've changed each other, possibly _for good?_

**Author's Note: **This story is not compliant with the epilogue; otherwise it follows the series exactly! I am a huge Wicked fan, so I won't let this turn into a cheesy musical fan fic. I really wanted to write a Harry/Draco story and this plot came to mind!

"Where does the time go?" Harry Potter mumbled to himself.

June and July had flown by Harry much faster than any summer he could recall. Their 61 days felt only like 12 to Harry, who had spent most of his summer at the Burrow with Ron and Hermione. After the War, which Harry spent least of his time remembering, the trio had received owls from Professor McGonagall from Hogwarts. Like most students who had been in their year at Hogwarts, they were invited to return as eight year students in order to finish their educations properly.

Hermione was most adamant of the group that they return to Hogwarts, given that they had not gone the previous year. Harry knew she missed school more than anything while they'd been travelling, so he understood her quick acceptance to returning. Ron agreed quickly after Hermione, knowing it was best to just agree with his girlfriend. Hermione had made plenty of good reasons as to why they should return to school. One of them being, that if they had any intentions on working for the Ministry, they were required to finish their schoolings. Harry was not as easy to persuade.

They'd spent most of their summer at the Burrow arguing over the matter. This was half the reason summer had seemed to go by so quickly for Harry. That and the whole Ginny debacle, but he'd rather dwell on his Hogwarts issue than Ginny. Hermione, who had grown up so immersed in her education, could not grasp the idea that Harry had stopped caring about his own. It was an unheard of situation for Hermione. If you have the opportunity to go to school, at least according to Hermione, you are compelled to go. Harry's feelings didn't quite match these beliefs and with that, a new war had broken out between the trio.

Only a week or so prior had Harry finally caved. Ron had suckered him into talking about Hogwarts and how Harry had always considered it his home and it wouldn't be right not to return. Though the point had been brought out before, Harry just couldn't keep fighting with his friends. He wanted to say that they Hogwarts they would be going back to would be much different than the home he was used to. But he was too tired of fighting. If they honestly thought going back to Hogwarts was what they needed to do, then he'd have to trust their judgment and do so. With that in mind, Harry instructed Hermione on handling his schedule and getting his required items from Diagon Alley. So gleeful that Harry finally saw things her way, Hermione agreed happily and told Harry he'd made the right decision.

His birthday had only just passed and yet Harry was still receiving owls from fans, wishing him a belated birthday. Just that morning a tawny owl had flown through the window in the kitchen and dropped a package of toffees on his lap with a note from a total stranger, telling Harry they were 'so sorry they were late with their greeting.'

Hermione demanded to inspect each of the gifts Harry was given before he was allowed to use or eat them. When Ron had asked her what point there was to that, seeing as the majority of the people who wanted Harry dead were dead themselves or locked up in Azkaban. Hermione felt no need to in explaining herself to Ron and set about inspecting Harry's gifts in the room she shared with Ginny, leaving Ron and Harry to themselves.

"Mate?"

Harry was laying flat on his back in the garden outside the burrow. After Hermione had gone upstairs, Ron began eating lunch while Harry went outside for some fresh air. He'd wound up on the ground, just letting his mind wander.

Ron plunked down next to him, "Anything you want to talk about? You've been pretty quiet these past few days."

Harry wasn't in the mood for talking. He just wanted some rest. He shook his head slowly, "I'm alright. Just a bit tired lately, you know?"

"Yeah, I'm feeling a bit off myself," Ron said while stretching his arms over his head. "Hopefully we can enjoy the rest of our summer before we're back to school."

He only nodded in agreement. He could only hope for a peaceful summer followed by an easy school year. Maybe this year would be his first ordinary year at Hogwarts.

It was on Harry's first day back at Hogwarts he found himself seated in the Great Hall for breakfast. Like always, Ron was seated at his side. However, Hermione was not occupying her spot beside Ron at the table. Instead, the pair happened to be accompanied by Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan. All four of them were eyeing their schedules with weariness. Ron and Harry in particular looked rather sour as they read their schedules further. He would _never_ trust Hermione with the task of schedule making again. Double Potions with the Slytherins _and_ Muggle Studies in the same day? She was out of her mind.

"I think 'Mione has it out for us," Ron said while eyeing Harry's schedule, his mouth full with bits of sausage. "Maybe since we didn't want to plan our own schedules?"

"If you two hadn't insisted on being so absolutely useless this past summer, I wouldn't have had to resort to sorting out your schedule. But of course, what was I expecting?" Hermione said from behind them, dressed in crisp, brand new dress robes, her usually untamed hair pulled back into a neat bun, reminiscent of Professor McGonagall's.

"We were recuperating for a war, school wasn't really the first thing on our minds," Ron explained while piling more eggs and bacon onto his plate. Hermione stood with her hands crossed over her chest, glowering at him.

"Really Ronald, what a tired excuse! Everyone went through trauma during the War, don't blame that for your lack of ambition to get a proper education," Hermione snapped, clearly annoyed with Ron's excuse of the War being why they spent the whole summer lounging around the Burrow. Without another word, Hermione turned on the spot and marched out of the Great Hall.

"Wonder what's got her knickers in a twist," Ron whispered to Harry while the brunette stared at the spot Hermione had been standing in. When Harry didn't respond, Ron dropped his fork, "You think I should go apologize?"

"If I were you, I would just make sure she's not upset about something else. You know girls, always upset about something," Harry muttered, his eyes flickering to Ginny who sat half way across the table, her eyes burning daggers into her plate.

Ron pushed his plate away from him, "You're probably right, thanks mate."

"Any time," Harry called after Ron's retreating form.

Harry looked at his untouched breakfast and shrugged to himself. He wasn't hungry, so there was no point in even trying to eat it. Without Ron or Hermione there, Harry had little reason to remain in the Great Hall. Classes didn't start for another two days, so Harry was now stuck with a lot of free time and nothing to do. With the hopes of a walk presenting him the opportunity to do something purposeful, Harry cleared his area and got up to leave the hall. He could feel nearly the entirety of the hall watching him as he left. He was growing used to everyone's eyes following him wherever he went, not that he enjoyed it. Rather than fighting it, he decided to embrace it and pray it would end soon enough.

Muttering to himself as he strode through the halls, Harry managed to collide with another person, which could only be expected with the lack of attention he was paying to where he was going. Harry began sputtering apologies while gathering the books he had knocked from the person's arms when a pale hand shot out to grab the same book. Harry recognized it instantly and drew his own hand back, his eyes drifting to look up into a pair of curious grey eyes.

"Potter," Malfoy said curtly, standing up straight, still looking Harry directly in the eye.

Harry wasn't used to the awkwardness that now lingered between the two of them. He was used to their animosity. No, he was comfortable with it. With that gone, he didn't know how to act around Malfoy. After their awkward meeting over the past summer, Harry felt weird around Malfoy now. They weren't friends, probably never would be. But they didn't hate each other. At least, that is what Harry had surmised since seeing Malfoy that past July. One could never know with Malfoy though.

Unsure of what to say, Harry looked at the book in his hands. He recognized it quickly, his anger with Hermione flaring once more. It was the textbook required for Muggle Studies, "You're taking Muggle Studies?" Harry asked, feeling as if his world had just done a 360 turn. Malfoy wanted to learn about muggles?

"Yes Potter, I am," Malfoy said, his lip curved upwards in a half sneer as he reached out for his textbook. Harry quickly hand it over. "I was under the impression almost all of the eighth years would be taking the class together. With my new found freedom, I chose to explore new subjects."

Harry once again didn't know how to respond. The fact that he was having a semi-civil conversation with Malfoy was just not normal. They cursed each other, argued, and physically fought one another. They basically did anything other than just _talk_.

"Not that it is any of your business Potter," Malfoy said after a long moment of silence, obviously feeling uneasy do to the weirdness of their situation.

Harry nodded his head; it wasn't his business what classes Malfoy took during his last year at Hogwarts. Feeling a little out of character, he graced Malfoy with a polite smile and began to walk away, not before shouting "Well, see you Thursday then Malfoy," over his shoulder.

Rather than adventuring the castle like he had planned, Harry headed back to the common room to wait for Ron and Hermione. His run in with Malfoy seemed like something worth telling them.

He slipped past the Fat Lady after greeting her and reciting the password of 'gum drop' to her. The common room was almost vacant, apart from a group of first years huddled in a corner, probably too afraid to leave the common room. It was possible some of the older students may have embellished the stories of house rivalries to the point that these kids were scared to go around anyone outside their own house. Harry wasn't going to be the one to tell them they had nothing to worry about. If they were foolish enough to fall for that joke, they'd have to figure it out on their own.

Harry settled in the same cushiony chair he was so used to that sat right before the fire and waited. Hopefully the couple wouldn't be too long. After a few minutes of waiting, Crookshanks hopped up into Harry's lap and nuzzled against Harry's chest. The warmth of the fire and Crookshank's rhythmic purring lulled Harry into a light sleep.

Sometime later, the banging of the common room door woke Harry. "Seriously Ronald, don't slam the door like that! You're going to really aggravate the Fat Lady one of these days and she will stop letting you in."

"She can't do that 'Mione, she'd get in trouble," Ron scoffed at her. His eyes then landed on Harry, who was now stretching in an attempt to wake up while rubbing at his eyes. "Harry, there you are!"

"I've been waiting here for you guys," Harry yawned out.

Ron plopped down on the sofa across from Harry with Hermione sitting down beside him with a little more grace than Ron. Crookshanks immediately jumped off Harry's lap and scuttled over to Hermione to nestle himself on top of her feet.

"We came right back into the Great Hall and you were gone Harry. Why'd you leave?" Hermione asked and then she bent over slightly to rub behind Crookshank's ear.

Harry shrugged, "I figured you two would take a while and I wasn't in the mood to talk with anyone else."

Hermione's eyes narrowed at him while Ron nodded his head in understanding. Ron knew that Harry preferred to keep to himself while Hermione was prodding for Harry to reach out. Though Harry could tell Hermione was itching to say something, she kept it to herself, which let Harry tell them about Malfoy. When he finished his recount of the story, Ron's mouth was hung wide open while Hermione didn't look at all surprised.

"If Malfoy told the Wizengamot the truth about his father forcing him to follow the same beliefs, who is to say Malfoy hasn't wanted to take the subject for years now?"

Both Ron and Harry stared at Hermione as if she just suggested they go for a swim in the lake with the giant squid. Of all the people with a reason to hate Malfoy, Hermione was close to the top of the list. Since their first year at Hogwarts Malfoy had constantly teased her and called her horrible names because of her parentage. Hermione wasn't one to hold grudges or be hateful, but Malfoy was an certainly exception.

"Don't look at me like that," Hermione said once she saw their expressions. "I'm not sitting here saying let's go walk to the Slytherin common room and ask Malfoy to be our new best friend. Things are different now, I've grown up. I'm not going to assume the worst of people anymore."

"How would you be assuming? You know Malfoy 'Mione. He's bloody awful," Ron nearly shouted with his hands up in the air in frustration. "He's treated you like filth on his shoe for seven years. He doesn't deserve to be in your good graces."

"I don't want to talk about Malfoy," Hermione said suddenly. "We don't know him, not at all. If what I heard is true—

"Yeah and who did you hear it from, Lavender Brown?" Ron quickly snapped. Harry shrunk in his chair because of the glare Hermione was giving Ron. Harry wasn't sure if it was because Ron had suggested that Hermione had been talking with Lavender or if it was because Ron had interrupted her. Whatever her reasons, Harry felt bad for Ron. But instead of looking afraid, Ron looked even more defiant.

"For your information, your_ father_ told me about the Malfoy family trial. So, I happen to believe what he said, which has left room for me to decide whether or not Malfoy is the bad guy in all of this. Now, if you're done harassing me for being a nice person, I think I'll be off to bed."

Ron sat in his seat, completely flabbergasted. Hermione huffed loudly before spinning on her heel and marching up the stairs to the girl's dormitory. Harry assumed Ron was fuming over the fact Hermione would ever consider giving Malfoy a second chance. Harry couldn't help but wonder about what she'd been saying. Was Malfoy a different person than he believed him to be?

"She's mental," was all Ron managed to get out before storming off to their dormitory.

Harry followed a few moments later and found Ron had already gotten into his bed and drawn the hangings around himself. Seeing as Ron was no longer in the mood to talk, Harry figured he might as well lie down. Harry found that letting Hermione pack his trunk that year had in fact been a good idea. His clothes were right on top, so he didn't need to search for something to sleep in. He'd have to remember to thank her later. Quickly he changed into a pair of shorts and a baggy shirt before slipping into his bed, drawing his own hangings around his bed.

Like most nights, Harry couldn't just fall asleep. His mind was full with different questions. Why did he care about Malfoy being in Muggle Studies? It's not like he wasn't used to taking classes with Malfoy. And yet, things were different now. There was the possibility that Malfoy wasn't a total bastard. Then again, he could have lied to save his arse on trial. The Malfoy Harry knew would have done that. The Malfoy Harry knew cared for no one but himself and would go to extreme lengths to get what he wanted. Harry should never have considered the idea that another Malfoy existed. Deciding that Ron was right, Harry flipped onto his stomach and fell asleep wondering how their first Muggle Studies lesson would go._  
_

Potions with Slughorn and the Slytherins went surprisingly easy.

They were allowed to break off into pairs, Hermione working with Harry since she and Ron weren't on speaking terms. Neville wound up being Ron's partner, much to Ron's reluctance. He had been ready to apologize to Hermione and beg her to be his partner, but they didn't have much time. They were working of Veritaserum, which required quite a lot of time and attention.

With Hermione as his partner, Harry didn't even have to worry about their potion. Hermione, a top marks student, knew better than to let Harry, and ruddy potion's student, touch their potion. So Harry got to lean back and watch the others struggle with their brewing. The majority of the Gryffindors in their class were getting along well with their potions, though none of them looked as at ease as Hermione did. However, Professor Slughorn was stuck cleaning the mess that Neville and Ron had managed to make when their cauldron exploded.

Harry was rather shocked when not a single Slytherin laughed or made a crude remark about Neville's awful potion making abilities. It was incredibly out of character for them to just ignore it. Seeing as the potion did call for a great measure of attention, Harry figured they weren't going to let a Gryffindor distract them from the potion and possibly risk their results. Looking at it from that angle, it no longer felt strange.

However, when he arrived at Muggle Studies after lunch, his sense of unease returned.

The Muggle Studies classroom was set up much different than the majority of Harry's other classrooms. Instead of desks lined in rows facing the black board, there were cushiony chairs formed in a circle around a desk with a stack of papers on top it.

A young woman, who could only be two or three years older than him, sat beside the table with a wide grin on her face. She waited silently as students filed in and took various seats amongst the circle. While everyone settled in, Harry tried his hardest to recognize this woman. She had vivid blue eyes, which made Harry question if they had been magically tampered with. Her wild blond hair hung around her face in big curls, all beside the one strand of hair pulled back by a silver clip. Harry recognized her muggle clothing, having spent many years amongst muggles. She was in a black t-shirt with the words _Legally Blonde_ across her chest in a bright pink color. Her pairing of this shirt with simple jeans made Harry question why McGonagall would pick such a person to teach at Hogwarts. She didn't seem very restricted like the Headmistress. Harry saw other students eyeing her as well, some of the guys giving her the once over. If Harry was looking at her in that sense, he would have to say she was a beautiful woman. Once every last seat had been filled, their professor rose from her seat and the door shut loudly behind them. Harry winced.

"Welcome everyone, I am Professor Flume," she said in a sweet tone as her named appeared on the chalk board. "But you may call be Gabrielle."

Hermione's hand shot into the air, "Your last name is Flume? Any relation to **Ambrosius Flume, founder of Honeydukes?"**

Professor Flume smiled, "Yes indeed, he is a great, very very great, Grandfather of mine on my father's side. My parents live above the shop currently."

Hermione nodded her head in understanding. The rest of the class rolled their eyes, not at all surprised by Hermione's knowledge of who their Professor's family was.

"As many of you know, I am new to Hogwarts and the subject of Muggle Studies, seeing as I have never taught anywhere else," Professor Flume began, waving her hand swiftly as she spoke, as if she conducting an orchestra. "I was informed of your previous teachings in this subject and I have to say I am sadly disappointed with where you are. I spent the past three years living amongst muggles, so my knowledge of them is now personal. I admit, most of you may have assumed, that I went into hiding when I heard of the Dark Lords rising. My husband," Harry noticed a few of the boys in the class drop their eyes and mutter at the mentioning of their professor having a husband, "is a mugleborn and we feared for his life. He insisted on me keeping my own last name while we lived here, fearing for my own safety. Though our time in hiding was full with fear, I did learn quite a lot on my travels."

Harry couldn't help but feel like Professor Flume's eyes kept landing on him. "I want you all to know that anything that had been taught last year in this class is meant to be disregarded, seeing as it was not ethical. So, to start anew, I have a brand new branch of Muggle Studies I would like to start with. Can any of you tell me what a _musical_ is?"

Hermione's hand was first to reach the air, followed quickly by Malfoy's and Dean. Flume looked between the three and settled for choosing Malfoy. "Your name?"

"Draco Malfoy," he replied coolly, causing Harry to wonder if the only reason he raised his hand was to impress their new professor. "A musical is known in muggle theatre as a play in which the story line is portrayed through dance and song."

"But of course!" Professor Flume clapped her hands together in glee. The rest of the class looked at Malfoy in shock. How had he known that? "Thank you Mr. Malfoy for your textbook definition. Now, is it safe to say that none of you have actually seen a musical before?"

Everyone besides Hermione and Dean nodded. Professor Flume noticed, "What musicals have you been to?"

Hermione grinned before launching into detail of the numerous musicals she had attended in London with her parents. Harry didn't know what a _sound of music_ or _Othello _was but it sounded a bit odd. Once Hermione had finished, Dean was allowed to say he'd seen something called _equss_ or _eqiss_ the past year. Everyone besides Dean, Hermione, Malfoy and Flume looked confused.

"Oh, don't look so baffled! I see only a select few students dared open their textbooks before coming to class. Well, I can't say I was much different when I was at Hogwarts. However, it is imperative, if you intend on passing this class, that you _do your readings!_ We have an intense project we will be starting just next week. I need well informed students if this project is going to succeed. I suggest now, if you intended on taking my class in order to have an easy class, you may leave now. Muggle Studies is an important subject that has been disrespected for too long."

Ron looked as if he was ready to pick up his bag and leave but Hermione's severe glare kept him rooted to his seat. Everyone else looked around uneasily, scared to know they were already going to be thrown into an 'intense project' only in their second week of school.

"Good, I hope you're all as dedicated as you're making yourselves out to be," Flume said, flipping a strand of hair over her shoulder before continuing. "Today, we will discuss musicals in detail. I would like for everyone to pull out their texts and flip to page one hundred and twenty-nine."

Professor Flume's no nonsense attitude was all Harry needed to hear to know exactly why McGonagall had picked her as a professor. Everyone begrudgingly pulled out their books and found the page number. Most of the lesson went into detail of the history of musical theater and where it had come to since then. Professor Flume told them of the muggle shows she had seen while she was in America, which is where she had gotten her shirt from. At the end of the lesson, just before the bell rang, Professor Flume made an announcement that nearly stopped Harry's heart.

"Tonight, for homework I want you to research _all_ the current musicals and pick one musical you think the class should put on. I want you to write eight inches on why you feel we should perform this musical and what character you would portray."

Hermione's hand went timidly into the air. "Yes Miss Granger?"

"When you say perform, you don't mean we're going to be _in_ the musical, right?"

"But of course you are! At the end of this term, we will be performing a musical in front of the entire school."

Harry heard Neville faint behind him.

_So what do you guys think? If you liked it, please let me know what you liked! _


	2. Trust in McGonagall

**For Good **

_Thanks for the reviews guys! The question of how learning about musicals is practical came up in a review, and I feel you will find the answer to that written in this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy this! Also, I __**NEED A BETA**__for this story, so if you're interested, please drop me a line!_

There was major uproar at Professor Flume's words, but she immediately halted them with a raised hand. "I warned all of you that if you did not intend on being serious students that you could leave my class. I will not listen to whining! Set about your homework and I will see you tomorrow in class."

Before anyone else got a chance to reply, the bell rang and Professor Flume was in her office, her door slammed shut. The class, sensing defeat, rose to their feet and began to collect their things. Harry stared at the door, wondering what on earth had just happened.

Like everyone else, he grabbed his bag and followed after Hermione and Ron out of the classroom. Ron hung back, letting Hermione guide them, in order to talk to Harry. "Did you expect that?"

"Not at all, I was expecting that class to be an easy one," Harry replied truthfully. He had no interest in taking Muggle Studies in the first place, but he wasn't too upset about the idea because he anticipated the class being easy for him, having grown up with muggles. He'd never expected to class to have taken such a drastic turn.

"Have you ever heard of these musical things anyway? I mean, you lived with those muggles for a while and all," Ron questioned Harry as they rounded a corner leading to the Great Hall.

Harry shook his head, "I mean, the term sounds familiar and all but it was very unlikely for the Dursley's to invite me out to a musical when I was with them. If you didn't catch on, they aren't the most generous people."

"Oh yeah, forgot about that."

They quickened their pace to catch up with Hermione at the Gryffindor table. Harry scanned the table and saw Ginny glaring at him over her goblet. She was surrounded by her friends, all of whom were now giving him equally dirty looks. Ron noticed Harry's gaze and forced him to sit down, "Ignore her," he muttered before taking his own seat next to Hermione.

Without any mention of Ginny, Harry began to pile food onto is plate. He'd just begun to eat his potatoes when Hermione cleared her throat. Both he and Ron looked up at her, their mouths full with food. The pair looked at their friend with confused expressions until she spoke, "Well, that class was interesting, wasn't it? I assume you guys will need help with your homework?"

It was more of a statement than a question. Harry swallowed and answered first, "Yeah, I was planning on asking for a little help with that."

Ron only nodded his head in agreement, too immersed in his food to speak. Hermione clicked her tongue, her annoyance with Ron quite obvious. "It scares me to think of what your grades would be like if I did not always intervene. We're going to the library once we're done eating. We're going to have to do a bit of research to find out enough information on these musicals in order for you two to be able to write your own essays."

"Ah Mione," Ron said though a mouth full of food. Once glance from Hermione had him swallowing his food before he dared speak again. "Can't you just tell us what musicals to pick and what we should write about them?"

"I'm not doing your work for you Ronald," when Ron looked put out by this Hermione sighed. "Really guys, this project sounds like a lot of fun. I feel like I'm the only student who is anticipating this assignment."

"You're the only person I know who _anticipates_ any assignment," Ron mumbled. Hermione ignored his statement and barreled on, her comments now directed at Harry. "Haven't you ever just wanted to be someone else, if only for a moment? That's what acting is. It gives you a chance to express yourself. It seems very liberating."

While Hermione hit the nail on the head about Harry wanting to be someone else, _if only for a moment_, he did not reply. Instead, he sat and stared at her, not truly seeing anything fun about this project ahead of him. Instead, he was regretting returning to school more and more with how heavy his workload already seemed to be.

Hermione sighed again, for Ron had gone on to ignore her and submerge himself in his food once more, eyeing a particular piece of potato in front of him. "Well, I'm going to get an early start on this. Meet me in the library when you two are done."

Once Hermione had gathered her books and left the Great Hall, Ron turned to Harry, "I'm making sure to remember that part she said about it being liberating and what not and use it in my essay. It's bound to make me sound loads smarter."

Harry, along with Seamus and Dean who had heard Ron's statement laughed. As he finished the rest of his own food, Harry found his mind travelling back to Hermione's words. How would it feel to be someone else? On more than one occasion Harry found himself wishing he could be someone, anyone else. Would this acting thing make Harry feel good? What if he was garbage at it? It didn't sound like something you could just do, from what they'd read in class at least. He had to sing for starters and that was something he _highly_ doubted he could do. Yet he couldn't help but at least toy around with the idea in his mind for the rest of lunch.

They found Hermione holed up in her usual corer of the library dozens with of books scattered on the table in front of her. Ron plopped down unceremoniously next to her while Harry settled down quietly on her other side. Without a word, Hermione pushed a book in each of their directions before she going back to scribbling furiously on her own piece of parchment. This behavior isn't at all unusual for Hermione. It was unlikely that Hermione would speak to them for some time, not when she seemed to into her own work. Begrudgingly Ron and Harry settled about doing their own work.

Hermione had passed Harry a copy of _Muggle Theater of the 20__th__ Century_. The book was thicker than _Hogwarts: A History_ (not that Harry had ever cracked that book open) and he took this an ominous sign. He knew full well that if he didn't at least try to locate a musical worth performing with the class, Hermione would begin a whole new lecture on how Harry didn't care about his education or where his life was going now that the War was over. Which wasn't entirely false, but he still didn't want to hear it. He also felt he gave Hermione too much grief over the matter. Because he knew Hermione cared, he opened the book and began scanning the pages, praying that a title saying 'Pick Me for Your School Play' would jump out at him immediately. Sadly, Harry's luck wasn't that great.

Hours later, Harry pushed away his third text with the conclusion that he only understood one musical enough to write about and its name was_ Grease_. The plot was about muggle high school students, which was where teenagers went after they completed primary school, where there were two teenagers in love. He still didn't get how singing helped express their love, but he found he honestly had stopped caring hours back. Hermione had left him and Ron helpless in the library almost two hours previous, having finished her own work rapidly.

"This is brutal," Ron moaned as he slammed his book shut. "Are you going with Grease too?"

"Yeah, why do I feel like everyone else will be as well," Harry said, letting his head fall with a thud onto the table.

"It's the only one that makes sense plus there's load of stuff about it, I'm almost done with my essay," Ron said while making some adjustments to his paper, or at least it sounded as such from what Harry could hear from the scratching of Ron's quill.

They sat in silence for a few moments, possibly longer, until Ron spoke again, his voice much lower than before. "Is it just me, or have you noticed how Malfoy is always alone now, and never with his old friends?"

Harry lifted his head to look at Ron, a questioning look drawn across his face. Since when did Ron just bring up Malfoy in such a casual way? "Huh?"

Ron nodded his head towards a table two tables down from them, where Malfoy sat almost exactly like them, books spread before him while he wrote his own essay. He was indeed alone, but Harry didn't see the cause of concern. Since when did being alone in the library count as isolating yourself from your friends?

"I hadn't noticed," Harry said with a shrug, resting his head back on the table, but continuing to look Malfoy's way. Thinking back, Harry hadn't seen Malfoy around his old cronies, not that many of them were left. Nott had left the country, after his father had been tossed in Azkaban. Crabbe was dead, while Goyle was most likely sharing a cell in Azkaban with Nott's father. Only Parkinson and Zabini had returned to Hogwarts and when Harry racked his brain, he couldn't recall a particular time he had seen the three together. Even though the three of them were taking Muggle Studies, Harry realized Malfoy had sat away from the pair. But that didn't mean anything; it wasn't like Harry was keeping tabs on Malfoy. Who cared if he had friends or not?

Harry shook his head suddenly. He knew if he kept this up, his mind would be plagued by Malfoy and why he wasn't spending time with his friends. He did not need to start obsessing over the blond that was the last thing he needed. Harry got up from the table a little too quickly, causing himself to stumble forward. Harry could hear the others in the library snickering at him, but he paid them no mind, instead he looked back at Ron.

"It's late," he muttered to Ron when the red head tossed him a funny look, "I'm heading back to get some sleep."

"That sounds like a good idea, I'll come with you," Ron nodded while getting his own books together.

Harry ignored Ron's presence the whole walk back to the common room, his mind was flooded by thoughts of Malfoy. Why did Malfoy always get _such_ a reaction out of him? It wasn't like Malfoy had said anything daunting to Harry at all, in fact Malfoy steered clear of Harry at all costs. They'd only had that one conversation a few days back and then Harry had managed a polite conversation with the blonde, and now he was being ignored? Maybe that was it…maybe he wanted Malfoy to pay attention to him. _No, that's stupid._ Why would he want to go back to the childish antics both he and Malfoy once endured? No, he would just ignore Malfoy and get through his last year. Malfoy was an arse who didn't deserve for Harry to be wasting precious thoughts on. He had N.E.W.T's to worry about and basically anything and everything else to think about besides Malfoy. _Yes_ Harry thought idly as he settled in to his bed, _ Malfoy was the last thing he needed to worry about._

The following day, Harry awoke later than usual. By the time he had showered and changed into clean clothes, everyone was already filing out of the Great Hall and making their way to their first classes of the day.

"Here," Hermione said, shoving a muffin into Harry's hand, "Eat it quickly before Transfiguration, you know there is no way McGonagall will allow it in her class."

"Thanks," Harry beamed at his before forcing the muffin down his throat, earning a disgusted face from his bushy haired friend.

Transfiguration proved to be tougher than ever. Harry was almost sure this was because McGonagall was no Head of Hogwarts and she wanted to be taken more seriously than ever. They were working on Conjuring Spells, which were much more difficult than anything they'd worked on in their previous years. The task they had been given was relatively simple, they were to conjure an arm chair to sit in. Some students, Harry included, were able to conjure the cushion but not the actual chair. After her fourth attempt, Hermione was able to master the spell, conjuring a plush arm chair which she proceeded to plop into and began reading while the rest of the class struggled around her. Both Ron and Neville, who had astonishingly made it into the N.E.W.T level class, had made no progress at all with the spell. By the time the bell had rung, all they had conjured were buttons that they hoped were meant to go on their chairs.

There was a break between Transfiguration and Muggle Studies which gave Harry enough time to finish up his essay for Professor Flume and get in a small lunch before rushing up to the Muggle Studies classroom.

He was one of the last students to take their seat in the giant circle, only being followed by Neville who apologized profusely to Professor Flume, for he had been in a deep conversation with Professor Sprout when he realized the time and hurried to class.

"No matter," she said, waving for him to take the only empty seat. "It's not as if you missed a thing Mr. Longbottom. But, because I am feeling slightly vindictive, I will volunteer you for first today."

Neville swallowed hard before speaking, "You mean I have to tell everyone what musical I picked?"

"Precisely," Professor Flume replied sweetly, her lips stretching into a wide, complacent smile. "Don't look so worried dear, I'm sure what you picked is just fine and that your explanation will be fitting. I have faith in that."

Harry wasn't sure if Neville was more anxious about going first or because of the smile Professor Flume was giving him. Whatever it was, it caused some students to stifle giggles as Neville dug through his bags and pulled out his parchment. "Er," he started, biting his lip and shuffling his feet at the same time. "I saw a lot of good musicals when I researched yesterday, but I found one that seemed really different and I kind of liked that about it. It's called _Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street_. It's actually very dark, since it's basically about this barber who kills people."

Zacharias Smith snorted a few people away from Harry and muttered to Justin next to him, "Yeah you couldn't get that much from the title of the musical."

Justin laughed audibly which intensified Neville's anxiousness. Professor Flume shot the boys a pointed look before looking back at Neville, the same smile on her face. "Yeah, and um well what was most disturbing, yet kind of cool, was that after Sweeny kills these people, this lady Mrs. Lovett bakes them in these meat pies –

"That's disgusting!" Parvati Patil cried. Some of the other girls gasped in shock while the guys in the circle seemed mildly interested in the story.

"I know," Neville agreed with her, his anxiety seeming to ebb away, "but I also like that Sweeny isn't this bad guy from the start. He's killing people out of revenge, see cause he was sent wrongly away for fifteen years and comes back to find that his wife poisoned herself after being raped by the judge who sent him away and their daughter is locked up in the judges house."

"It seems you've done a fair amount of research Mr. Longbottom," Professor Flume said gleefully as she rose to her feet once more. "You may sit down now, you'll receive full marks for today's work, just hand your parchment in at the end of this lesson. Now," she said while turning towards the rest of the class, "Who is willing to go next?"

Dean put a timid hand in the air and at once Professor Flume called upon him. He began talking about one musical called _Cats_ which he said his parents had gone to see in New York City. After Dean, Luna suggested they do a musical called _Miss Saigon_, which rather than go not detail on the musical, Luna related it to the search for a Crumpled Horned Snorkack she had gone on that past summer. Professor Flume did not say anything about this particular suggestion but merely asked for someone else to speak. Padma got up and was the first of 11 to suggest they do _Grease_, which seemed to be displeasing for Professor Flume, because she felt the class hadn't gone into enough research because so many students merely settled with that musical. She seemed ready to give up on them when Malfoy rose a pale hand to suggest his musical.

"Yes Mr. Malfoy?"

The blonde stood up, like everyone else before him. "I was thinking about _The Phantom of the Opera_."

Professor Flume's eyes lit up at this, "I have seen this show numerous times! What a wonderful selection, indeed I look forward to reading why exactly you picked it; hopefully you have insights on it that I have yet to breech. But, we have very little time left of class and I still must hear from Miss Granger, so if you do not mind?"

"Not at all," Malfoy replied, his expression unreadable. Harry held back a laugh, he could only imagine how annoyed Malfoy must have been to be cut off on his presentation for Professor Flume could hear all of Hermione's.

"Very well then, Miss Granger what have you selected for us?"

Hermione looked almost as anxious as Neville had previously, but Harry didn't see why she would be. She had been the first to finish her homework and clearly had the most knowledge on the subject matter. Then again, Hermione was always worrisome when it came down to her work. "Well, I was reading about this new production called _Wicked_."

"I do believe I have heard of that, never seen it though" Professor Flume said. Like she had been all lesson, she was writing in a note pad, most likely marking what each student was saying about their selections. When the fourth person had gotten up to suggest _Grease_, she had begun to scribble furiously. Harry assumed she noting what student's papers to read together to see if there had been any copying of the sort, which was probably the case for most of them.

"It's brand new," Hermione told her, which Professor Flume nodded at. "Well, I'm sure it's not likely that most people here have read or heard of _The Wizard of Oz_, it's a muggle tale that was later turned into a motion picture. Well, that story follows this girl named Dorothy in her journey through Oz. She is searching for the Wizard in order to find her way home and along the way she makes friends with the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man. She also learns of the Wicked Witch of the West and East, the Witch of the East having died once she arrived in Oz. While there is more to that story, it's those characters we are concerned about in _Wicked_. In _Wicked_ the story starts before Dorothy's arrival in Oz. Before she is known as the Wicked Witch of the West, she is Elphaba Thropp, a girl with electric green skin who possesses magical talents. The musical goes on through Elphaba's life, where she attends school and you find out how she becomes tiled as 'wicked.' It was because of this concept that I thought _Wicked_ would be a wonderful musical for us to perform, given then we can relate a little. It's brilliantly written, with an amazing musical score and has gotten astounding reviews. If you've seen _The Wizard of Oz, Wicked_ really fills in the holes. I wrote all about that in my essay!"

"I was not lied to by my colleagues Miss Granger; you do go above and beyond with your work. I'm rather excited to read what you've prepared for me. You may take your seat." Hermione did so quickly, a grin plastered on her face from the Professor's praise. "I will read over all your essays and by the next class, I shall have decided which musical we are going t perform. It would be prudent of you all to look up the musicals mentioned in class today to ready yourselves for my choice. Before you leave, make sure you place your essays on my desk. You're free to go."

While she was teaching, Professor Flume seemed years older, but once she had dismissed her students, she was her own age again. She pulled her long hair from its pony tail and shook it out while humming a tune that Harry did not recognize. Most of his fellow classmates were packing their things away, paying their professor not a speck of attention. That was, everyone besides Lavender Brown, who appeared to be working up the courage to walk over and speak with their professor. Harry watched her silently march over and tap her on the shoulder. Professor Flume spun around to face her. It was then Harry noticed her eyes were no longer blue, but brown. He frowned at this, hadn't then been blue only moments earlier?

"Yes Miss Brown?"

Harry noticed he was not the only student watching the interaction. Many others had stopped gathering their things to listen. Lavender's cheeks grew red as she spoke, "I was just wondering if I could ask you a question…?"

"I see no harm in that, what is it?"

"Uh well, I was talking with some people and we were wondering...uh, why is it we're learning about musicals and stuff? I mean, aren't there more practical muggle things to learn about like electricity and junk?"

"Excuse me?" Professor Flume, her smile completely vanished, her lips now pursed in a thin line as she glared at Lavender, who seemed to be shrinking under her intense stare. In that moment, Harry believed he was looking at a young McGonagall, she looked so much like their Head of House.

"Well…um, I didn't mean to offend you. We," she looked behind her, hoping someone was there to back her up. No one looked her in the eye, "just didn't understand the relevance of this to our education and all, you know not that it's not cool but why are we doing it?" Lavender was no longer looking at Professor Flume, but was instead particularly interested in her fingernails while she waited for an answer.

This seemed to aggravate Professor Flume further, "Look at me," she paused and waited for Lavender to do so. "If you or anyone else has such an issue with my assignment, I suggest you drop my class now. However, if you all seem to share the same feelings as Miss Brown, "Professor Flume said, her eyes now grazing over the remaining students, "I can gladly have your noses stuck so far in your text books that explanation the use of a muggle telephone and the history of the first airplane is impressed upon your faces in ink, if that seems more practical to you. Would you all rather I assign 15 inch essays each night on the history of muggle technology? Would that be a more proper teaching method Miss Brown?"

Lavender's lip quivered and she did not answer. Hermione took a step forward, "Professor, I don't have any issues with your teaching methods. I'm excited for this project, it's a whole new experience for almost all of us and it sounds like it will be fun."

"Thank you Miss Granger," Professor Flume said, her eyes still boring into Lavender, waiting for her to dare suggest that they learn about telephones or something else more _practical. _The bell rang, yet no one made to move. "I think it would be best if everyone left and went to their next classes."

And like their last lesson, Professor Flume marched into her office and slammed the door shut behind her.

"That was so rude of Lavender," Hermione huffed as they climbed the stairs leading to Gryffindor Tower. "Of all the people to criticize teaching styles, it should be me, but I wouldn't dare question Professor Flume. I think what she is doing is brilliant."

Ron nodded in agreement with Hermione, knowing by now it was better to just agree with his girlfriend rather than challenge her. Harry on the other hand, didn't have as much praise for their new professor.

"I guess some people may think it sounds like fun and all Hermione, but I don't see how this whole musical thing is going to work. Can anyone in our class even sing?" Harry asked as they approached the fat lady, "Fizzing Whizbee," he she quickly before Hermione responded.

Rather than looking put out, Hermione only laughed. "Harry, you'd be surprised by the talents some of our peers hold. I think you should have a little more faith in McGonagall as well. I think she selected Professor Flume for a particular reason and that _she_ has faith in this performance we're all going to put on."

While Hermione was probably right about McGonagall's choice in Professor, she was a god judge of character, Harry still didn't see how that helped him when it came down to the singing portion of the musical. He was sure that he couldn't hold a tune to save his life. Then again, that could work to his benefit. Maybe every student didn't actually have to be in the musical. Maybe he could just paint sets or whatever and never set foot on stage. Now that Harry thought about it, that idea was actually very plausible. He may not even have to show his face in the production at all, which made the project sound monumentally better. There was no way he would be even a half way decent actor, let alone singer. Yes, Harry would just be behind the scenes, someone else could gladly take the spot light. He'd had enough of _that_ in his life.

_How did you guys like the chapter? Next Chapter we will see a bit of interaction between Malfoy and Harry ;)_ Please review and let me know what you think! Also, who heard about the screening of Deathly Hallows in Chicago this past weekend? I read some of the fan reviews and it sounds AWESOME! Who else is uber pumped for November now?


End file.
